5 simple ways to keep your sleep space clean and fresh

Want to keep on top of cleaning your sleep space? Whether you’re worried about allergies, dust mites or bedbugs, we've got 5 top tips to help support more restful, healthy nights.  

Your bedlinen makes direct contact with your skin, so it’s what you should wash most regularly. Bed sheets can collect a serious amount of sweat, body oils, saliva and dirt, which cause nasty bacteria, and if not washed enough can transfer more quickly through to your pillows and mattress. The dead skin cells that you shed every night can also attract dust mites which can cause allergic reactions and affect breathing in people with asthma. Washing your linens each week is ideal, but if this isn’t doable you should be making an effort to clean them at least every two weeks.

It’s recommended that you wash your duvet, pillows and bedding protection at least twice a year. When it comes to cleaning them, carefully follow the care label instructions. Cotton, down and synthetic duvets and pillows can normally be machine washed, however foam pillows need to be gently hand-washed. When washing bedding, you only need to use a small amount of detergent – almost a third of what you’d use for a normal laundry load. Professional dry cleaning may be a better option (bedding can be too bulky for some domestic washing machines) but always ensure that they are well aired after to get rid of any residual chemical scents. 

Top Tip: To avoid any snagging of the filling, place your pillows inside a pillowcase when washing.

Steam clean hard floors (if you have them) to keep them dust and dirt free. You can also use a fabric attachment on your steam cleaner to slowly and gently steam clean your mattress too. Be careful not to use high-pressure steam which could cause any bugs to hide deeper in the mattress. Some experts suggest that exposure to temperatures above 48 degrees can kill bedbugs, their eggs and larvae.  

We all know that regularly hoovering carpets and floors in our bedrooms is critical for staying on top of dust and dirt build up. But did you know you can vacuum your mattress too? Use a high suction and be extra careful to get into all the crevices in the mattress.

• Replace your mattress every 6-8 years, and invest in a good-quality mattress protector. 

• Replace your duvet every 2-5 years (depending on whether you switch duvets for the seasons).

• Duvet and pillow protectors can prolong the life of your bedding. Experts recommend washing pillow protectors when you wash your pillowcases - ideally at least every two weeks.  

Struggling with a bedbug infestation?

They can be hard to resolve without professional help - we recommend speaking to an expert from https://bpca.org.uk/find to be sure you’re on the right track.